News

Santa’s visit to Saugatuck

Once again, Santa Claus arrived by police patrol boat on the Saugatuck River to join kids and their families in this year’s huge turnout for the Saugatuck Center Christmas tree lighting. Santa brought good cheer, presents and lots of smiles to little faces. Well, almost all the faces – not everyone likes Santa Claus, apparently! Also, astute onlookers commented that (not unlike Superman & Clark Kent) when Santa arrives, LANDTECH’s Pete Romano is nowhere to be found.

New supermarket coming to town

After how-many-years of vacancy and one pitched zoning battle after another, Westport’s Saugatuck denizens can finally look forward to a supermarket in their midst.. http://mysticmarket.com

Honoring the Renovated Wakeman Town Farm

Westport’s Historic District Commission honored LANDTECH pals Peter Wormser and Liz Milwe and Wakeman Town Farm for the restoration and addition to the John S. Wakeman historic 1908 farmhouse. The Farm and the new Tim’s Kitchen addition have evolved into the hot new educational spot for kids and adults learning about organic farming, community supported agriculture and green living. Congratulations, Peter and Liz and the dozens of other volunteers at WTF (including our own Pete Romano) who worked so hard on this project! [photo courtesy of Dave Matlow and WestportNow]

Ecological Restoration in Southport

LANDTECH scientists Tom Ryder and Chris Allan have been busy designing and overseeing a complete ecological restoration of a conservation area that is part of the Maplewoods Senior Living facility in Southport, Connecticut. The multi-year project will include replacing non-native invasive plants with healthy new meadow and shrub species and restoring and enhancing habitats for native wildlife.

Studying Ecotoxicology in the French River

Some people will do anything to get out of the office: LANDTECH biologists Tom Ryder and Chris Allan are just completing an “electrofishing” project in northeast Connecticut. They’ve been tasked with collecting population samples of small fish from different reaches of the French River in support of an ecotoxicological study underway.

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Paci’s Re-opens

One of our favorite places of all time! Paci’s of Southport is open again after additions and renovation are completed. They have added a spectacular bar that extends along train tracks, an outdoor dining area and restorations to the restaurant’s interior. LANDTECH assisted with the site plans, permitting and approvals through the local P&Z, the parking authority and the State of CT Department of transportation railways division. If you liked Paci’s before, you will love it now.

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Celebrating the Harvest at Wakeman Town Farm

Hundreds turned out Saturday night for the Wakeman Town Farm Harvest Fest dinner and fundraiser. The event brought in the new season, celebrating the amazing growth and accomplishments of the Farm in recent years with produce straight from the farm’s gardens. Local chefs created specialty dishes and attendees expressed their gratitude! [photo courtesy of our friends at WestportNow.com]

Celebrating Wakeman Town Farm

On Friday September 15, a crowd of 200 friends and supporters came together at Wakeman Town Farm to celebrate the opening of a new teaching kitchen, the renovated farmhouse and to welcome Corey Thomas, the new farm director. LANDTECH provided permitting, site planning and other services and support for the new kitchen and farmhouse renovations. [Hat tip for photos to Dave Matlow and WestportNow]

Breaking Ground at the Westport Library

The Westport Library held a groundbreaking celebration for its long-planned Transformation Project with a gathering of hundreds of supporters turning out to celebrate. The project has been through several iterations, ranging from a near-complete replacement of the library to the less ambitious – but significant – renovation plans in place now. LANDTECH is proud to have been involved, providing preliminary site planning… [photos tx to Dave Matlow and Gordon Joseloff of Westport Now] www.westportnow.com

Weston featured in the NYTimes

The New York Times featured an interesting profile on the town of Weston. LANDTECH, whose staff includes several Weston residents, was happy to note that a number of the properties looked at in the piece are projects we had a hand in, including LaChat Farm, Aspetuck Country Club, and others. Go Weston! Ready the feature here…Photo courtesy Douglas Healey, New York Times.

Gray Barns on the Silvermine River Opens

On Saturday, September 9, Gray Barns on the Silvermine River will open its doors to guests at the Tarvern and Inn. LANDTECH has been helping this project from the begining in 2013, drawing plans, preparing reports and applications, attending hearings and even participating in a menu tasting. Our friends and clients Andy and Marcia Glazer have restored and transformed the historic but dilapidated property and create the beautiful and spectactular Grey Barns.

Previsualizing Flooding

Stories and pictures of the flooding around Houston are a wake-up call for all shorefront communities. NOAA has an online sea-level calculator that allows one to adjust the Mean High Water level and previsualize the effects (like seeing much of Compo beach and Saugatuck Island go under with 4′ of water rise)… [Learn more…]

Ecplise Watching in Westport

Clouds permitting, LANDTECH’s eclipse-watchers and others be on hand early next Monday afternoon at The Westport Astronomical Society’s Rolnick Observatory (182 Bayberry Lane). Visitors can enjoy the use of solar telescopes, safety lenses and expert guidance. The “maximum” eclipse for Connecticut is expected at 2.45pm. https://www.was-ct.org [hat tip to Dan Woog’s 06880 blog]

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A New Plan for the Cribari Bridge

Local legislators working with CT’s D.O.T. have developed a plan that could give Westport’s landmark Cribari Bridge over to local control. Plans call for reposting CT Rte 136 to Post Road instead, allowing the bridge to get needed upgrades and repairs without being a state road and thus having to be retrofitted to accomodate interstate trucks – a major bone of contention in and around the Saugatuck area… many details to be worked out, so stay tuned! [hat tip to Dan Woog’s 06880 blog]

Getting Ready for the Eclipse

The scientists and engineers here at LANDTECH are plenty worked up about the solar eclipse coming on August 21st. Southeast US will see the closest to a total eclipse, but Connecticut will have a great view… the best since 1918! Read up on keeping eyes protected – be safe, and enjoy! Learn more…

Humpback Whale Spotted off Compo Beach

A rare sighting of humpback whale off of Compo Beach today has raised the attention of boaters and marine enthusiasts. Boaters – including sailboats, kayaks and jet skis – are reminded to give these animals a very wide berth (wider than this video would suggest!) as not only are they protected by law, they are very vulnerable to injury from boats, and can inadvertantly cause serious damage to boats (and boaters) … https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrMpd8Rs9ow [hat tip to Dan Woog’s 06880 blog]

Pine Street Concessions opens

Landtech provided site planning and oversight of permitting and approvals for Pine Street Concessions a gourmet food hall in New Canaan, CT which opened in June 2017. The space includes three permanent food vendors, a Farmers’ Market table, retail space, extensive seating inside, patio area, and plenty of parking. Pine Street Concessions is the creation of New Canaan Racquet Club president Peter Lane and was designed by Balance Architecture LLC. The building is 3,000 square foot, 1.5 stories high and designed to resemble an old train station building that is naturally lit under a vaulted ceiling. Learn more…

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Celebrating Tim’s Kitchen

Friends and supporters of one of LANDTECH’s favorite causes, Wakeman Town Farm, celebrated the opening of Tim’s Kitchen, a new educational classroom at the farm. It was created to honor the memory of Timothy Wormser, a dedicated young volunteer who passed away one year ago. Tim’s mom and dad, Town Farm co-chair Liz Milwe and LANDTECH colleague and architect Peter Wormser (who designed the space), were on hand with co-chair Christy Colasurdo to celebrate and prepare for a ribbon-cutting later this summer. [Tx for story and photo to our friends at Westport Now]

When Rising Seas Hit Home

Fun reading in a new report, “When Rising Seas Hit Home,” an analysis of challenges ahead for ours and other coastal communities. The report predicts a dramatic and alarming increase in “Sunny Day Flooding” (tidal flooding, not rainfall flooding) – but also what preventive steps property owners (and governments) can take to prevent or minimize damage.

Helping to preserve Connecticut for generations to come

As part of volunteer work with the CT Environmental Review Team, LANDTECH scientist Chris Allan starts work this summer to provide an environmental evaluation and recommendations to the town of Thomaston CT for a large parcel of open space west of their downtown. For more info, visit www.ctert.org

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Summer Camp at Wakeman Town Farm

We’re so pleased the summer campers are back at Wakeman Town Farm here in Westport. A couple dozen elementary school kids joined in the fun today, working on gardening, composting, animal care and arts & crafts. Camp runs until mid-August, mornings and afternoons, and we recommend families pay a visit – learn more at www.wakemantownfarm.org… [hat tip to Dave Matlow and WestportNow.com for photo & story!]

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Opposition to Cribari Bridge Replacement

LANDTECH applauds Jim Marpe, First Selectman of Westport, who notified CT State Transportation officials today of his opposition to funding any design or construction projects related to the reconstruction of Saugatuck’s historic Cribari Bridge, pending further review and assessment of community, traffic and environmental impacts [hat tip to Dan Woog’s 06880 blog for breaking this story…]

Shoreline Impact

Climate Central has released a new interactive map showing shoreline impact for coastal locations for every foot of rising sea level… type in your location while you’re donning goggles and a snorkel…

Your Resource for the CT Coast

Now that glorious summer is in full swing, this newly updated Connecticut Coastal Access Guide is a great resource for finding sites along the CT shore for boating, swimming, hiking, fishing and the like…

The Perfect Tool for Beach Season

Perfect for beach season, Save the Sound has an online tool that displays water quality conditions all along Long Island Sound. Westport’s own Compo Beach earns pretty steady B+ to A ratings. soundhealthexplorer.org

Becoming a Net-Zero Community

LANDTECH urges all our friends to consider joining this online petition – supported by all 3 town selectman, many town boards and committees – to endorse the Net Zero plan to develop an environmentally sustainable future for Westport and all of Connecticut.

Peter Romano honored by Wakeman Town Farms

Wakeman Town Farms honored LANDTECH’s Peter Romano and architect Peter Wormser at Town Hall yesterday with Volunteer of the Year awards for both, for their help and dedication in making WTF the success it has become. We are very proud of both Peters! Awards were given out to several other hard working and dedicated volunteers, including checks for $10,000 each in tuition grants given to three deserving high school students!

The future of Saugatuck

We want to encourage all our friends and neighbors to come out this Monday night, June 12th at 6:30pm at Town Hall to meet with the steering committee developing a master plan for the Saugatuck neighborhood — our neighborhood! Make your voices heard! A petition is online.